prisoners
Tangeni Amupadhi
A team of prison guards charged with beating and robbing inmates in three Western Cape jails this year could go free because their superiors refuse to discipline them.
The task team members trained to contain riots and identify weapons and explosives allegedly assaulted prisoners during raids on Pollsmoor Prison in May, Voorberg in March and Helderstroom in February. After the Pollsmoor raid, eight convicts were hospitalised with broken ribs, broken noses and broken wrists; 200 were injured.
The raid solicited widespread condemnation, forcing Minister of Correctional Services Sipo Mzimela, to set up an independent investigation. Although the inquiry found the crack squads had overstepped the limit, prospects of prosecuting squad members are waning .
The Western Cape attorney general has decided not to prosecute the 25 task force members accused of assaulting inmates of Helderstroom prison, because 20 of the 50 inmates at Helderstroom prison have withdrawn charges.
The 25 are members of the 180-strong squad being probed for violence at Pollsmoor. No internal disciplinary steps will be taken, said provincial prisons representative Eddie Claasen. We depend on the attorney general and the police for directions.
Mzimelas representative, Bert Slabbert, said the ministry will only consider acting against the squad once police investigations are over.
However, the Human Rights Commissions Rhoda Kadalie said in a letter to Mzimela last week: We believe strongly that any illegal action should not only be punished through the criminal justice system but also through appropriate internal disciplinary measures.
* Police last week resumed the probe into the Pollsmoor incident after prisoners refused to identify guards from photographs and a video recording. Police insist it would be impractical to bring in the 180 men for an identification parade.